Hey! I am Elena, the creator of Pilates Movement Paris (PMP). I am a pilates certified pilates instructor who moved to Paris, France five years ago with my family and we are loving it ever since. My own pilates journey started in 2011, when I asked a friend if she wanted to attend a pilates class with me at our local pilates studio in Brussels. I was super curious to see what the pilates hype was all about!
During adolescence I was into swimming, skiing and volley ball. At university, I started going to the gym and attended various group classes. At work I started running outdoors with a co-worker and then came boxing. At some point it hit me: I realised that movement had always been an integral part of my life helping me to cope with physical and emotional stress. When I included movement in my life I felt at my best! Now, I wanted to try something new again. What did I anticipate from my first pilates session? Certainly not the revelation I was about to experience!
Only after a few pilates mat classes, I felt more energetic, more in tune with myself, whereas my frequent lower back pain was nearly gone! I started attending 3 to 4 times a week mat classes and felt AMAZING! I was learning how to get stronger without over exhausting myself. Up until then, I was used to going into a workout and trying to give 100% of my physical effort thus was left feeling depleted most of the time. Now, it was actually the opposite: less repetitions with good quality of mindful, low impact movement left me feeling balanced and energised.
For a whole year, I followed my intuition and attended foundation beginner mat pilates classes with various pilates teachers and built a good solid pilates foundation. I soon realised that pilates was a system that when embraced could lead to a mind-body transformation. During that time i fell in love with the depth of the pilates discipline, the challenge it brings for continuous improvement and the striking benefits it gives to almost all body types.
It was after becoming a mum and moving countries that I decided to make a u-turn in my career and follow my passion professionally. I trained under the Peak Pilates Comprehensive Certification Program in the Netherlands, were i completed 400 hours of extensive training. Going back and forth with a 8 month old baby to complete my certification was no easy task but I felt that helping people replace unhealthy movement habits with heathy ones through the pilates system was my calling.
My teaching and training is based on the original Pilates method, which I carefully personalise to fulfil my client´s unique needs and personal goals. While working as a pilates instructor in various studios, I enjoyed enormously helping clients increase their body awareness, strengthen their bodies and regain alignment and flexibility. Also, as an ex-communications professional I enjoy bringing clarity, warmth and precision in my teaching.
Nowadays, I offer pilates classes in person and online. In the offline world, I enjoy working on a one on one or semi-private basis where I personalise a pilates session to my client's needs thus strengthen and progress much faster while maximising their workout time. In the online world, I help motivate my clients to create a healthy pilates habit via small length pre-recorded videos as well as live zoom classes.
Join me for a refreshing mind-body pilates workout!